1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an external active air flap apparatus of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a technology of an external active air flap apparatus of a vehicle that improves aerodynamic performance by improving a seal with a radiator grill.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an engine compartment of a vehicle includes with various heat exchangers such as a radiator, an intercooler, an evaporator, and a condenser as well as driving components such as an engine. A heat exchange medium is mainly distributed within the heat exchangers. For example, a heat exchange medium disposed within the heat exchanger exchanges heat with external air to perform cooling or heat radiation. Additionally, the external air should be smoothly supplied into the engine compartment to stably operate various heat exchangers within a vehicle engine compartment. However, when a vehicle speed increases, a substantial amount of external air is rapidly introduced and air resistance increases, causing fuel efficiency of a vehicle to decrease.
Recently, an active air flap apparatus capable of improving the fuel efficiency of a vehicle has been developed. For example, increasing an opening angle when the vehicle is driven at a low speed increases an introduced amount of air into the engine compartment and reducing an opening angle when the vehicle is driven at a low speed reduces the amount of external air introduced amount of air into the engine compartment. The active air flap apparatus is classified into and embedded type and an external type.
The embedded type is a Shroud duct type and has a structure that includes a duct for guiding a flow of introduced air mounted on a rear of the radiator grill. Further, a plurality of air flaps open and close air passages of the duct rotatably coupled to the duct, and a driver coupled to the air flaps is mounted on a rear of the duct. The driver may include an actuator fixedly mounted on the duct and a loader, a link connecting the actuator to the air flap, and the like. The embedded active air flap apparatus mounts the driver on a layout since the driver for adjusting the air flap is mounted on the duct. However, the aerodynamic performance is reduced and costs and a weight are increased due to the use of the duct, compared to that of the external type.
The external type is a radiator grill integrated type and has a structure that includes the to plurality of air flaps rotatably mounted within the air passage of the radiator grill to open and close the air passage of the grill. The driver connects the air flaps mounted on the rear of the grill. The external type active air flap apparatus does not use the duct used in the embedded type. Accordingly, the improvement effect of the aerodynamic performance increases and the costs and weight compared to the embedded type decrease. However the air flaps are spaced apart from the radiator grill by a wind pressure since the air flaps are sealed to have a linear contact with a rear end of the radiator grill in the operating state to reduce the sealability between the air flaps and the radiator grill. Additionally, the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle may not be significantly improved to a desired level.
The above information disclosed in this section are intendent merely for assisting in the understanding for the background of the present invention and therefore may contain information that does not form the prior art that is known to those skilled in the art.